Socioeconomic Status, Peer Social Capital, and Quality of Life of High School Students During COVID-19: A Mediation Analysis

Jiayu Zhang, Liu Hong and Gaoming Ma ()
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Jiayu Zhang: Zhejiang University
Liu Hong: Fudan University
Gaoming Ma: Zhejiang University

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2022, vol. 17, issue 5, No 26, 3005-3021

Abstract: Abstract This paper investigates how peer social capital mediates associations between socioeconomic status and quality of life among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey data and school administration records collected at a high school (N = 1,736) in a coastal province in China, the results demonstrate that adolescents’ socioeconomic status is associated strongly with their quality of life. When students were learning at home during COVID-19 school closures, peer social capital exerted a mediating effect on the association between socioeconomic status and quality of life. Most importantly, while peer social capital rooted in the real world seemed to be related positively to higher quality of life, peer social capital in the virtual world led to lower quality of life. These findings suggest that peer social capital might manifest different impact mechanisms for adolescents during the pandemic. Theoretical contributions and policy implications are discussed in this paper.

Keywords: COVID-19; Socioeconomic Status; Peer Social Capital; Quality of Life; Structural Equation Model; Causal Mediation Model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-022-10050-2

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